FDA approves inhaled insulin for type 1 and type 2 diabetes

The recent FDA approval of Afrezza, an inhaled insulin, could open up new options in mealtime insulin management for type 1 and type 2 diabetics, reports Health Day.

After being up for approval two previous times, the drug has now passed safety inspections that indicate Afrezza's efficacy and safety when combined with other diabetes therapies.

Patients with type 1 diabetes will need to pair Afrezza with long-acting insulin, while individuals with type 2 diabetes should use the drug in combination with oral diabetes medications.

Afrezza is the first inhaled medicine to be approved for diabetes treatment.

Afrezza not recommended for every diabetic

In a study involving more than 3,000 people - about 1,000 with type 1 diabetes and almost 2,000 with type 2 diabetes - Afrezza, when combined with either long-acting insulin or medication, produced better results than when Afrezza was used with a placebo.

"The agency stressed that Afrezza should never substitute for long-acting insulin, and patients with type 1 diabetes must use the drug in combination with long-acting insulin," Health Day's E.J. Mundell wrote. "Smokers should avoid Afrezza, as well, the agency said, and the drug is not to be used in the treatment of a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis."

Afrezza also isn't recommended for people with asthma.

According to Matthew Pfeffer, a spokesman for Afrezza's manufacturer MannKind, the cost of the inhalant will be priced comparably to fast-acting pen-based insulin therapies.

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